Microsoft's Xbox strategy has reader opinions split almost perfectly in half

(Image credit: Windows Central)

I asked a simple question of Xbox fans on the Windows Central Gaming X feed: Are you still excited about the future of Xbox? I'd be lying if I said I was surprised about the results.

A year ago now, Microsoft fully revealed plans to begin porting Xbox exclusives to PlayStation. Rumors began to coalesce over Christmas, and I was all too quick to dismiss them as rage bait and troll fodder — but it turned out to be true. Codenamed Latitude, Microsoft revealed plans to put Grounded, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Hi-Fi Rush on PlayStation — all previous Xbox and Windows exclusives. Since then, Microsoft announced Indiana Jones, Age of Empires, and now Forza Horizon 5 itself for PlayStation, and we have it on good authority that even Gears of War and Halo itself are heading to PlayStation too.

Xbox fans are right to be sceptical about this, given that, without console exclusives, what reasons are left for Xbox to even exist? Xbox lead Phil Spencer has indicated that the plan is for Xbox consoles to win on hardware and feature differentiation, with things like Xbox Game Pass. It remains to be seen if that strategy will play out, though, and Xbox fans seem split on whether or not it will.

Are you still excited about the future of Xbox?March 19, 2025

I asked Xbox fans on Windows Central's near 100,000 follower Twitter/X gaming account if they were still excited about Xbox's future.

This poll was inspired by a survey on our Xbox podcast, with comments from unfollowers saying that they still liked the show, but had decided to move on from Xbox — specifically because of Microsoft's strategy.

The common thread is that, if Xbox has given up on growing its console platform, then developers too could eventually abandon the platform. It's an extrapolation that has yet to come to pass, as Xbox seems to be winning more support than ever in recent years. Games commonly associated with PlayStation like Genshin Impact and Death Stranding both ended up on Xbox in the end. It's true that the industry has simply changed, and PlayStation has found itself supporting Windows PC and Steam OS to try and find new users as well.

In any case, as of writing, the results of the poll across over 6,000 votes show that almost exactly half of respondents replied "Yes," that they are still excited about Xbox's future at 49.9%. A quarter replied with "Mixed feelings," which probably reflect my own feelings. A further 20.5% replied that they're no longer excited, with "Not anymore," and 4% noted they never had any interest in Xbox.

Xbox's risky future

Xbox live event — The Xbox fandom has fractured due to "Project Latitude." (Image credit: Windows Central)

There are plenty of reasons to still be excited about Xbox's future. We exclusively revealed Xbox's partner handheld Project Kennan recently, built by ASUS. We also revealed how Xbox is planning an Xbox Series X successor and its own Xbox handheld, targeting 2027. Xbox VP Jason Ronald has detailed how Microsoft plans to converge development pipelines around Xbox and Windows, making life easier for developers. Features like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Play Anywhere, and Xbox Game Pass are potent reasons to remain in the ecosystem, even if the upcoming Xbox games line-up has diminished exclusivity.

Remarks heard by Windows Central during an internal town hall revealed that Xbox itself has acknowledged that the strategy has "stressed" the Xbox brand last year, but with playtime hours generally squeezed year-over-year, platform holders are increasingly being forced to cut out the middleman and find players exactly where they are. Xbox has seen success on PlayStation, PC, and cloud gaming platforms to find new players. But, I think you'd have to be particularly optimistic to imagine a scenario where it doesn't somehow risk the viability of Xbox as a platform. Hence my personal "mixed" feelings, but I'm not necessarily known to be an optimist ...

Indeed, Xbox's long-rumored strategy of putting Steam itself on the next Xbox could be an absolute game-changer. The full-circle strategy of truly turning Xbox into an affordable Windows gaming machine for your living room — which is what the Xbox was originally pitched as 20 years ago — could be exactly what the market is looking for right now. But nobody has a crystal ball.

Of course, our poll represents hardcore Xbox users only. The vast majority of existing and potential Xbox customers aren't reading Windows Central. It'll be intriguing to find out how all of this lands with the mass market in the future.